Bye week down and football season is halfway over? Crazy how that works. This week we have a (somewhat manufactured) rivalry game against the boys over in Spokane-ish. Manufactured doesn’t mean it’s wrong though, and there’s bound to be bad blood when the other side houses the likes of Kirby Moore, Matt Miller, and Brad Larrondo. A Bronco bowl for sure.
Game Facts
- Date: (Today) Saturday, October 24th @ 4PM MST
- Location: Gesa Field at Martin Stadium (Pullman, WA)
- Weather at kickoff: 55°
- Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
- Odds: BSU by 14
- TV: USA Network
- Radio: 670 KBOI/Here or Stream
- Commentators: Nate Gatter (Play-by-play), Ryan Lead (Analyst), Lauren Green (Sideline)
Other facts
1. Gamedayyyy
2. Injury Report
Still without Rasmussen, so we’ll keep seeing Steele and Etsy at LG. Hoping Ben Ford gets back soon after all he’s been through in his career.
3. THREADZ
My uniform analytics say these are a good combo. Follow for more analysis.
4. QB1
Mad Dog’s got that QB1 MONEY.
5. Remember When?
I feel like I’ve picked this clip a lot, but it’s a classic. I would choose the 2017 Wazzu game, but I would need to cut it off like early 4th quarter when the Broncos cruised to a 31-10 win… (Too soon?)
Streaks
Boise State – Won 5
Washington State – Lost 4
Best Name On Their Roster
Jshawn Fausto-Ramos, S
Oh yeah, this kid is East-West Bowl certified.
Best Picture On Their Roster
Linus Zunk, DE
How many Covid/NIL/Transfer years did this adult man get?? No way this dude is in college. (On my final editing pass it has occurred to me that he’s from Berlin and is essentially Wazzu’s Max Stege, so he actually might be 30…)
Players To Watch
Owen Eshelman, QB
The new guy set up shop last week in his debut for the Cougars and played quite well against the (apparently now G6 favorites) Oregon State Beavers. His 49 passes netted him 289 yard and 2 TDs, going along with a whopping 136 yards and a TD on the ground. All that to say I’m asking you to mentally prepare for a couple dumb third down scramble conversions and, as you love and expect, a long TD due to bad tackling.
Linus Zunk, DE
It’s always fun when we can dive more into a Best Name/Photo guy, and Zunk is big part of the Wazzu defense that’s actually been pretty good, given the weight that their offense has (not) carried. He’s racked up 31 total tackles and 2 sacks thusfar, presumably hoping to bring down the Mad Dog’s excellent sack numbers.
Matchup(s) to Watch
Well, a few things here. On paper, Wazzu has the worst offense in America, but recent changes to the playcalling (Kirby took the playcall sheet from Matt Miller) and the quarterbackship means they decided to have life just in time for our visit to town.
As for the Broncos, the defense has been ironclad on money downs, and shockingly bad on those dumb, meaningless 1st and 2nd downs. One hopes they learned about tackling and turning around in pass coverage during the bye.
Rants, Worries, or Wishes
Meaningless regular season games
Is there an appetite for a somewhat controversial article about the 24-team playoff? I have a multitude of thoughts on this.
G6 Chatter
The G6 rat race is exhausting. The Broncos were picked to go to the playoff preseason, they’ve met and exceeded expectations, now they are no longer the favorite? (That’s probably paywalled if you don’t have The Athletic, but you just have to trust me) I should definitely not engage on this, because destiny currently remains in Bronco control, but what is sports fandom if not complaining?
Score Prediction
I’d love a blowout, but it’s a rare occurrence that a conference foe doesn’t go all out on Bronco game week. Now consider the Bronco guys on the Wazzu staff, and I’d expect to see some stops pulled to make it a game. All that said, we have a Dylan Riley, a Sire Gaines, and a Maddux Madsen on a generational heater. Broncos by a million (minus 999,985).
Boise State 35, Washington State 20
